ICE * In Case of Emergency | Interdisciplinary art and climate project | Residencies and events in Kilens hembygdsgård, Sideby (FI), 3-9.7.2023, Casa del Parco dell’ Adamello, Cevo (IT), 20-30.7.2023, Der Kulturraum Burgruine Blumenegg, Voralberg (AT), 2-10.9.2023
Supported by LEADER/CLLD, REGIO Großes Walsertal, Walserherbst Festival, and Patagonia International Grants Program.
ICE * In Case of Emergency was developed by the art collective Sympoietic Society as a year-long, multifaceted initiative with a primary objective to draw attention to the urgent crisis facing our planet, with a particular focus on its bodies of water (including seas, glaciers and rivers). It unfolded throughout 2023 in three interlocal chapters across the European territory.
Beginning in the small coastal village of Sideby in Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland, the project delved into local stories and folklore, highlighting the community’s resilience over time and its intricate ecosystem shaped by the Weichselian ice age and ongoing process of land uplift. Moving on to Adamello Park in Italy, home to the Italian Alps’ largest yet tragically diminishing glacier, collective members and attending audiences uncovered local herbal lore and explored the tangible heritage of Val Canonica’s rock art and cave engravings. Finally, the project concluded in Voralberg, Austria, with an evocative Glacier Ceremony placing the dwindling Rote Wand glacier at its core.
In addition to the concluding Glacier Ceremony, the project introduced the concept of Fire Talks, interactive storytelling events hearkening back to ancestral traditions of gathering around a fire to share stories and wisdom. The period leading up to the Fire Talks and the ultimate Glacier Ceremony included residencies where collective members shared their knowledge and practices through workshops, performances, art installations, and public interventions, all tailored to the socio-ecological context of each location.
ICE * In Case of Emergency manifested itself not only as a platform for envisaging a better future, but also served as a collective space for mourning. This initiative aimed to heighten awareness and sensibility towards the lives beyond human existence, underlining the profound interconnections between human and more-than-human beings within local environments.
Photo credit: Paul Staring, Voralberg, Austria.
